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Saturday, February 16, 2013

Five Bible Verses on John Chapter 1

1. John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understooda it.

The book of John is the first book of the New Testament. This is where
we get our knowledge of Jesus Christ. This is right from the beginning
of the book of John. We learn that during the beginning of creation
Jesus was with God in the heavens. We start to get into the connection
between Jesus and God right away. It's a perplexing connection because
Jesus is a separate entity yet also is God. Many see it as God came to
earth in the form of Jesus . It is most likely more complex than that,
but it isn't necessary for us to understand everything at this point. We
learn that through Christ the world was made. Through Christ is the
salvation of man kind. This translation says the darkness has not
understood it, but some translations say the darkness has never put out
the light.

2. John 1:6-9 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.b

Here we get our introduction of John the baptist. John was holy and
was sent from God. He could be considered the prophet that came before
Jesus to prepare the way for him. He witnessed for Christ and baptized
in the wilderness. John the baptist is a personal hero of mine, because
he worked outside the bounds of society. He lived in the wilderness and
worked there. One could say John prepared people to meet Jesus and
receive his sacrifice.

3. John 1:10-13 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- 13 children born not of natural descent,c nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

We learn here that Jesus came into the world, but it did not recognize
him. People didn't just see Jesus and know that he was the son of God.
Many just assumed he was another human man going about his business. In
the city where Jesus lived he was not well received. We also learn that a
wondrous thing here. Before Jesus we were not children of God. God
watched over and supported people before Jesus but we were not actually
saved. Jesus gave us the right to become children of God. Through Jesus
God becomes our father and we are no longer of the world. Through Jesus
we are no longer of our parents or grandparents. We are of God.

4. John 1:22-23 Finally they said, "Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" 23
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, "I am the voice of one
calling in the desert, 'Make straight the way for the Lord.'"h

The pharisees heard that John was baptizing in the wilderness so they
sent some priests and levites to question him. He told them he was not
the Christ, nor elijah, nor the prophet. When they insisted on answer
from John about who he is, John quoted Isaiah. We see that John the
baptist was very humble. This is a great thing to notice about John and
all the prophets. They were humble and did not testify on their own
behalf. The quote from Isaiah is a powerful one. John's purpose was to
take a messy situation of lack of faith and make the people ready to
receive Christ. John preached and baptized to prepare the way for Jesus.
He allowed their ears to be able to hear the words Christ spoke. Jesus
compared John the baptist to a lamp, burning bright!

5. John1:29-31 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."

This is one of my favorite passages from scripture. John saw Jesus
coming and was awe struck! He called him the lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world. This is a great way to understand God's gift to us
in Christ's sacrifice. In the Old Testament when people sinned they
offered burnt sacrifices to pay for their transgressions. Animals were
often sacrificed, like lambs. John calls Jesus the "lamb of God." God's
offering is no ordinary lamb, but his own sacrifice to pay the cost of
all sins then and forever. John mentions again that Jesus existed before
he did. John tells us that he baptized so that Jesus would be received
by the people of Israel.

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